This invention is in the field of battery chargers and power supplies. In particular, a preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a programmable power supply and battery charger for a portable computer.
Using an alternating current ("AC") to direct current ("DC") adapter to power a portable computer is known. It is also known to use the adapter to power the computer and simultaneously charge the battery for the portable computer. However, known adapters and charging systems are very limited in the number and type of batteries they can recharge. Although many different types of batteries can be used with any given computer; a separate battery charger is needed for each of these different types, as the charger is preset to charge at a specific rate and for a specific amount of time. Known chargers are also passive devices which cannot vary the charging current or time in response to the battery's actual condition.
Known attempts to integrate the mechanisms of an AC adapter and a battery charger have resulted in units that are somewhat awkward to use. Typically, the battery charger is a separate unit from the AC adapter. This increases the number of devices that a user must own and manipulate and prevents the battery charger from being used conveniently with the adapter.
Given the limitations of known AC adapters and battery chargers, a single AC adapter/battery charger that could recharge several different types of battery packs and that could actively monitor the charging status of the battery pack and modify the charging process to accommodate individual variations in the battery pack would be very desirable. If these qualities could be realized in a compact and physically well-designed package, the device would be even more desirable.